North Carolina Health News

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childhood obesity

Children sitting around a table cutting greens as part of a program that tackles physical activity in Durham.

Fighting childhood obesity by teaming up

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Fighting childhood obesity by teaming up - North Carolina Health News

How one Durham program, Bull City Fit, is partnering doctors concerned about children’s health with parks departments to change young lives.

By Sarah Ovaska On a rainy, cold and dark winter evening, several dozen children from age 5 into their teenage years gathered in the courtyard of a Durham Parks and Recreation building, counting out stretches, jumping jacks, lunges and leaps in unison. “1-2-3-4-5 …” Between the numbers were shouts relaying the rules of Bull City […]

shows the inside of a corner store.

Pediatric Obesity Rates Continue to Increase

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Pediatric Obesity Rates Continue to Increase - North Carolina Health News

One in six children in the U.S. is considered obese. And in North Carolina, the rates are on the higher end. Newer research shows excess weight on their growing frames is causing musculoskeletal problems.

By Taylor Knopf When Selma White stocks her neighborhood convenience store with fruit, she can hardly keep bananas on the shelves. Stella’s, named after her mother, is a small, gray house on a mostly residential street just north of downtown Elizabeth City. White opened Stella’s in 2001 and stocked with it the usual corner store […]

Family Ties Keep One Rural OB-GYN Practicing in Eastern NC, Despite Challenges

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Family Ties Keep One Rural OB-GYN Practicing in Eastern NC, Despite Challenges - North Carolina Health News

Dr. Lindsay Stevenson catches babies in the far northeastern corner of the state where he was raised, and where his father and brother still run the local pharmacy. But keeping the practice thriving is a challenge.

By Taylor Knopf It doesn’t take long to find a woman in the northeastern coastal town of Elizabeth City who had a baby delivered by Dr. Lindsay Stevenson, one of only two OB-GYNs in the area. Samantha Merritt was a little nervous to deliver her first child in the small, rural town of about 18,000 […]

A group of smiling people stand under a swingset, holding a ribbon that they're about to cut.

CDC Grant Targets Four NC Counties with High Obesity Rates

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CDC Grant Targets Four NC Counties with High Obesity Rates - North Carolina Health News

As rates of obesity and diabetes increase, local groups are using grant money to help people eat healthier and be more active.

By Taylor Knopf After a healthy cooking class in Lee County, some of the participants said they loved the new nutritious recipes, but that they didn’t have some of the cooking utensils at home to make them. So one local group came up with the idea to put kitchen utensil lending libraries in food banks […]

shows brand named halloween candy in a pile

The History Behind the Myth of Poisoned Halloween Treats

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The History Behind the Myth of Poisoned Halloween Treats - North Carolina Health News

What a seasonal fear may reveal about our changing relationship to food.

By Joe Fassler The New Food Economy Everybody’s heard the unsettling bit about the razor blade-spiked Halloween apple. But for three decades, Joel Best, a sociologist at the University of Delaware, has been a calm, consistent voice of reason: No, the neighborhood psycho isn’t going to tamper with the local trick-or-treaters’ candy. In a paper […]

Award-winning Goldsboro Child Care Center Spreads Gospel of Healthy Living

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Award-winning Goldsboro Child Care Center Spreads Gospel of Healthy Living - North Carolina Health News

Child care centers around the state are trying to stem the growing tide of obesity. By Thomas Goldsmith Alissa Merritt loves it when her 5 year old daughter Gracie toddles up to her with a piece of fruit or a vegetable to ask, “This is a healthy snack, right?” Merritt attributes Gracie’s knowledge of healthy […]

A display case at Carolina Country Fresh.

Funds for Food Desert Initiative Move Forward

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Funds for Food Desert Initiative Move Forward - North Carolina Health News

Three years after the legislature started hearing about food deserts, legislators are poised to address North Carolina’s obesity problem. By Rose Hoban Walk into Carolina Country Fresh on the edge of the Pitt County town of Bethel this week and you’ll be surrounded by fresh lettuce, onions and peas. And strawberries – for another week […]

Eating Well at the State Fair: Some Frying Allowed, Nutritionists Say

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Eating Well at the State Fair: Some Frying Allowed, Nutritionists Say - North Carolina Health News

Each year, our editor treks out to the North Carolina State Fair, determined to find healthy food that’s also special enough to be good for the fair. By Rose Hoban People always laugh when I tell them, “I’m going to the state fair to find healthy food,” but I refuse to be discouraged in my […]

Middle-schoolers Cassidy Ward and DeAndre Foote consider soft drink options.

Kids Find Their Own Way to Healthy Living

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Kids Find Their Own Way to Healthy Living - North Carolina Health News

A program to help middle-schoolers find their own way toward healthy food choices is finding success. This story was originally published in February 2012, but has been updated with new information. By Taylor Sisk When you’re a seventh-grader, the world is your oyster. Or maybe it’s your carrot stick. But more probably, it’s your Twix. […]

New Maps Show Differences in Life Expectancy

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New Maps Show Differences in Life Expectancy - North Carolina Health News

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